Nicolas Cage Says 'Kick-Ass' Won't Be Gratutiously Violent

Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass seems to be one of the projects of the moment -- either because it's a super slow news time or because Mark Millar has taken over the Internet. I suspect the latter.

When this movie was officially pushed into gear, much was made of the violence of Millar's book, and how Vaughn refused to tone it down for the film. Studios fled screaming from it. But according to Nicolas Cage, it's not going to be excessive. "When I said 'yes' to this movie, it was to a script," Cage told MTV. "Then I started seeing the comics which are pretty far out in terms of violence. But I think Matthew and the script have a different style to it. I'm not fond of gratuitous violence ... There will be some moments of action that will be violent, but there will be a sense of elegance to it. [Matthew Vaughn] doesn't want to get gratuitous with it. At least that's what Matthew has told me."

Now, perhaps this is all a matter of perspective -- what studios see as over-the-top and gratuitous, Vaughn and Cage don't. But on the snap judgment surface, it sounds as though Vaughn is watering down Millar's book, which is hard to believe when he was so dedicated to the blood and guts that he funded it himself. I want him to stick to his guns (no pun intended) and make the movie that shocked studio executives. My future katana-wielding daughter must be portrayed accurately, in all her foul-mouthed and blood drenched glory. (For the record, I trained her, not her father. As if I would trust such a delicate task to anyone else.)